>Dear Lynn and all shellers,
>I finally made it to Conch-L, It might seem amazing that someone with low
>vision would collect shells, collect minis, and use a computer!  I find a
>crow quill pen and India ink is best, I tried a drafters
>pen and ink, it would clog and the line it made too thick.
>Jordan *
>P.S. Thanks Lynn for welcoming me to Conch-L.

13-11-1999
Welcome, Jordan!

I use drafting pens on fossils etc, and do find that if you don't have a
good firm surface the pen will scrape it up and clog. For fossils a plastic
coating is best to write on. Also don't use too fine a pen; 0.25mm is best,
0.35 way too big. For labels etc or very small shells I use a 0.18. On a
good day I can write a 4-digit number inside the aperture of a 1.5cm shell.
Hard to correct if I mess it up, though.

Buy a good-quality pen eg German Faber Castell or Rotring Rapidograph.
Cheapies and/or nasties, and I believe the latter includes everything other
than the two mentioned, won't do the job at all well and will not last. Use
one with a carbide tip eg Faber Castell TG1-H. Jewel tip of a TG1-J will
eventually fall off. Plain stainless tips will wear and become scratchy as
the cleaning rod nbecomes exposed. Rapidographs use a cartridge, but you
can refill these carefully, using a syringe and long needle! Use an
India-type drafting ink eg Rotring Drawing Ink. This ink will survive in
ethanol or formalin-filled containers, though acetone will affect it. Don't
cut corners and you'll have a good pen that lasts. Just beware, 0.18 and
0.25 nibs are needlessly thin and bend easily. You can straighten them only
so many times. If the cleaning rod within kinks or comes loose from the
bobweight within (the thing that rattles as you shake the pen, and pumps
the ink) it's time for a new nib or "cone". These late-model pens shouldn't
clog with disuse, though it's best to do test lines every now and then to
keep them clear. If they do clog with dried ink, Rotring cleaning fluid in
a Rotring cleaning container (or any sealable plastic container, in fact)
will work, though it may take an ultrasonic bath of hot water to make sure.
I have cleaned "dead" 0.18s this way, which had been lying full of dried-up
ink for years.

Some pens may need some shaking on being used for the first time in a
session; old Rotring Isographs need shaking every time you pause for more
than a second or two, ensuring that they don't last long.

Andrew